Evil Does Not Exist

evil manifests itself in many ways. my first film from hamaguchi (i definitely need to watch drive my car soon)  good and evil are such abstract concepts that it can’t be classified as simply as black and white. this ecological drama teaches us to respect and care for nature, imploring us to be less selfish and ignorant. the film started out slow, with its flowing cinematography, with flow being a recurring metaphor, eiko ishibashi’s atmospheric and flowing score, paired with 10 mins of just nature, wood cutting and collecting water, in absence of dialogue, just embracing the eerie beauty of ryusuke hamaguchi’s world.  this film subverted everything i expected, from its twist and turns and expected ending, as the pace quickened, juxtaposing the slow paced beginnings and takumi’s passive attitude, which built up, perfectly, through the foreshadowing and music, to the truly unexpected ending, which is probably a perfect ironic metaphor.